I have done it. I have chosen my goal for this year’s National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). If you don’t know about this wonderful event, then go check it out. I will be here when you get back. Go on.
Well, you’ve either stayed for the rest or you have come back to thank me for sending you down a rabbit hole of words, writers, goals, and resources. In either case, welcome! And without further ado, here is my goal for NaNoWriMo 2020.
I will be adding 50,000 words to my 2015 NaNo attempt, Symbiosis. I have a 21,000-word head start, but, to be official, I need to add at least 50,000 new words. I went back and forth between learning more about Liam and Emily, which was going swimmingly, or finishing Symbiosis which focuses on JoAsh and Rowen. Symbiosis is, as far as I can tell, the first book in this family saga (oh, did I mention it is a family saga now?), so I better get it done. Cannot edit what is not complete. Cannot pitch what is not there. Cannot sell half the story.
To prep for the fast and furious month of writing, I’m creating a loose outline of the major plot events using K.M. Weiland‘s Structuring Your Novel which has been a big help. While checking out her helping writers website, I stumbled on an outlining/structuring Scrivener template she created. I have been using Scrivener to write for about 5 years. There is definitely a learning curve, and my curve is more of a squiggle. It is a learning squiggle. However, with this template (which was FREE), I feel a bit more in control of my squiggle. With the help of the template, I have already begun the outline and further deepened my character’s wants and needs. The plot has more weight. There is more at stake. The story is simply better! I only have this week to get my thoughts in order. I am both confident and terrified.
So, there is my goal. But wait, there is more!
Somewhere in the past 30 days, I decided to take myself seriously. If I insist on claiming to be a writer, then I better write, dammit. For me, this means surrounding myself with other writers and learning as much as possible about everything from pitching and query letters to the role of an editor and an agent. I am now a member of James River Writers. I attended my first ever conference through James River Writers a couple of weeks back. The virtual conference did not disappoint. There were several agents, editors, authors, and writers waiting to help me with whatever I needed. Why did I wait so long to do this? I will never miss another JRW conference.
I made a few important goals during the conference for the next year.
- Get a draft completed. Edit the draft into a novel. Send out query letters for the novel.
- Attend the 2021 JRW conference with a pitch ready for a one-on-one with an agent, submit my first pages for review, and drop my name in the hat for the Agent Dating Game (so fun to watch!).
- Always be working on the next idea.
Let’s go November 1st. I have got a draft to finish! Oh, hang on. Let me work on this outline a few more days.
Wendy Crafton Writes 